"Greenhouse gases" help to regulate the Earth's temperature. When out of natural balance, they restrict the reflection of infrared energy back into space, trapping heat in the atmosphere. View animation

When conditional instability exists, air parcels are stable if they are dry and unstable if they are saturated. Conditional instability can help to generate storms by causing parcels of moist air to rise and form towering clouds. View image

Cirrus clouds permit most of the sunlight that reaches them to pass through to Earth's surface, while thicker cumulus clouds reflect much of the sunlight that strikes them back into space. Both types block some of the heat radiating from Earth, warming the planet's surface. View image

CO2 is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, but other gases also make significant contributions to climate change. Other pollutants, such as fine particulates, also affect how much solar radiation is retained in Earth's atmosphere. View image

Under current conditions bicarbonate is the most abundant form of CO2. All three forms are important for biological processes carried out by marine organisms. The green arrows in this diagram show the range of pH (7.5 to 8.5) that is likely to be found in the oceans now and in the future. View image

The Sun is much hotter than Earth, so it emits radiation at shorter wavelengths. The solar spectrum x 10-6 applies at the surface of the Sun, not at Earth's orbit. Solar energy flux is lower by a factor of 50,000 at Earth's orbit. View image

Carbon cycles constantly between land, oceans, and the atmosphere, although its residence time in various reservoirs can vary greatly. Black arrows in this image show natural fluxes and red arrows show anthropogenic contributions. View image